


Speechless

by awgaskarth0805



Category: All Time Low (Band)
Genre: Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-12
Updated: 2020-01-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:47:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22225105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awgaskarth0805/pseuds/awgaskarth0805
Summary: Alex loses his voice in the middle of a song during a concert.
Kudos: 6





	Speechless

**Author's Note:**

> This is a request!

“Good morning, everyone,” Alex said as he walked into the front lounge of the bus.  
“Morning? It’s two thirty in the afternoon, dude!” Rian stated, looking at the time on his phone.  
“This is pretty late, even for you. Are you okay?” Jack asked his friend.  
“Yeah, I’m fine, why do you ask?” Alex asked back, starting to make himself some tea.  
“Well, you’re making yourself tea now, you normally only do that when you aren’t feeling well,” Zack pointed out as Alex heated up the water for his tea.  
“Oh, this? Well, my throat feels a bit dry, so I thought some tea would be a good idea,” Alex explained, finishing up his tea and sitting on the couch.  
“Do you think you’re coming down with something?” Jack asked, making Alex roll his eyes some.  
“No, I think it’s just allergies. Seriously, I’m fine, don’t worry so much,” Alex replied. His friends shrugged then went back to what they were doing.  
If Alex was being honest, he felt a bit more off than he was letting on. Aside from the pain in his throat, he felt very tired, considering he’d just slept for eleven hours, and he felt some congestion in his head. He really hoped that some tea and medicine would be enough to combat whatever he was coming down with, since they were on the road. The last thing that Alex wanted was to get sick and have to cancel shows.  
“When are we supposed to get to the venue?” Alex asked, washing his now empty mug.  
“In about an hour. Then, we have soundcheck and meet and greet before doors open,” Zack explained.  
“Sounds good, I’m going to go get ready,” Alex said, walking to the bus bathroom to take a shower. The steam helped to loosen up some of the congestion in his head, but when he was done, he burst into a coughing fit that he tried to muffle with his towel.  
Coughing made his throat hurt more, and he felt it go from a little discomfort to a more intense pain. He winced as he tried to clear his throat some, hoping that his voice and throat would be okay for their show. Once he was fully ready, he went back to his bunk, and stayed there until they got to the venue.  
Right as they arrived, he had another coughing fit, which he did his best to stifle. As he forced himself up, he noticed that his body felt achy, and instantly knew that he was not going to be able to get out of being sick. After grabbing everything he’d need, Alex walked out to the front lounge where his friends were waiting for him.  
“Alright guys, it’s soundcheck time!” Rian said, leading his friends off of the bus. Alex trailed behind, trying to convince himself that he was fine, and Jack was quick to pick up on this.  
“Alex, are you okay, man? You’re acting kind of off,” Jack pointed out.  
“My throat still feels a bit dry, nothing major, don’t worry,” Alex said, decided to keep how he was really feeling to himself so he wouldn’t worry his friend.  
“Are you sure that’s it? You look a bit worn down,” Jack noticed. Alex knew that Jack would just keep asking questions, so he decided to be partly honest.  
“My throat hurts, and I feel a bit off. I’ll be fine, I’ve felt ten times worse than this before,” Alex explained.  
“If you say so. Just don’t push yourself too hard,” Jack cautioned. Alex gave his friend a small smile as a thank you as they walked into the venue. Their crew had arrived before them, so their instruments were already set up.  
“Meet and greet starts in thirty minutes, so let’s get soundcheck done,” Zack said as they all got their instruments ready. A few minutes later, they started into their soundcheck.  
For the most part, Alex was okay, his voice was slowly getting worn, but it wasn’t anything that made the band ask him if he was okay. Once they were just about done with their last song, Alex’s throat hurt quite a bit, and the pain made him break into a big coughing fit. Everyone immediately stopped playing, and Jack rubbed Alex’s back until he was okay again.  
“Are you alright? That didn’t sound good,” Jack asked, sounding concerned.  
“Yeah, just a tickle,” Alex replied, his voice sounding hoarse now.  
“Alex, are you sick?” Riana sked from behind his drumkit.  
“No, I’m fine, I’m just-“ Alex was cut off by Jack putting a hand to Alex’s forehead.  
“Dude, you feel a bit warm,” Jack pointed out.  
“Okay fine, I think I’m coming down with something, but I’ll be okay, don’t worry about it,” Alex confessed.  
“Do you want to skip the meet and greet so you can rest?” Zack asked.  
“No, I don’t feel that bad, and I don’t want to disappoint the fans, and I can rest after it until we go on,” Alex decided.  
“Okay, as long as you’re sure that you’ll be fine,” Jack replied.  
“We have to get to where the meet and greet is, it starts in ten minutes,” Rian said, looking at his watch. The four of them put their instruments away then walked to the part of the venue where the meet and greet was.  
Alex tried to conserve his voice, but he really loved talking to the fans, and talked a bit more than he’d intended to. By the end of it, he felt more worn out, and his throat hurt more from talking and occasionally coughing.  
“Okay Alex, you need to be on vocal rest until we go on, you sound hoarser now,” Jack decided.  
“I actually agree, my throat feels pretty worn down,” Alex admitted.  
“Can you do a full set?” Rian asked.  
“I think so. I want to try for tonight, and we can always shorten it tomorrow if it’s too much, or if I get worse,” Alex decided.  
“We’re going to go find something to do so you can have some peace and quiet. Text us if you need anything,” Zack said, leaving the green room with Jack and Rian. Alex found a blanket and set himself up on the couch. He turned on the TV and put on a show for background noise as he scrolled through his phone.  
As time passed, Alex started to feel worse, and by the time that they had five minutes until they went on, Alex felt achy, feverish, and his throat was in a lot of pain. After freshening himself up, Alex walked over to the stage entrance where his band was, getting themselves ready to go on.  
“Hey Alex, did resting help at all?” Jack asked, handing Alex his guitar.  
“No, I feel worse,” Alex replied, his voice sounding raspier now.  
“Are you going to be okay onstage?” Jack asked, sounding concerned.  
“Well, I’m going to have to be. It’s just ninety minutes, I should be okay,” Alex replied, coughing some. A stage tech told them that it was time to go on, so the four of them walked onstage, immediately starting into their first song.  
For the first few songs, Alex was mostly okay. His voice was clearly not perfect, but it was manageable. After some banter with Jack, they started into their fifth song, Lost in Stereo. In the first chorus, Alex felt that his throat hurt more, but tried to keep going.  
Halfway through the second verse, Alex’s voice cracked, and he wasn’t able to get the words to the song out. He tried very hard to clear his throat and pick back up, but his voice refused to work. Tears of frustration and pain stung at his eyes, and he hung his head at his microphone.  
Jack figured out what was going on and started to sing the song as they continued to play. After a deep breath, Alex walked to Rian’s drumkit where he wouldn’t be as easily seen by the fans and stood there until the song ended. Once it was over, Jack and Zack walked over to Alex.  
“Can you talk at all?” Zack asked his friend. Alex shook his head, as a depressed look took over his face.  
“Go backstage or on the us. We’ll get some fans to help us sing a couple more songs, then call it a night,” Jack decided. Alex just walked offstage and went to the bus as fast as he could.  
Jack told the crowd what was going on, and they invited some fans onstage to sing a couple songs before calling it a night, seven songs in. as soon as they were offstage, Jack sprinted to the bus to check on his friend. When he got on the bus, he heard coughing coming from the back lounge. He grabbed a water bottle, then walked to the back to see Alex hunched over and coughing. Jack sat on the couch, and helped Alex sit up some.  
“Here, drink this, it should help some,” Jack said, giving Alex the water.  
“I think I have laryngitis, I looked up my symptoms a little bit ago,” Alex replied in a raspy voice.  
“That doesn’t surprise me. I think we should cancel the next couple shows. I know you probably don’t want to, but-“ Jack started.  
“No, I agree, this isn’t going to get any better until I rest my voice some. How was the rest of the show?” Alex asked, coughing some.  
“We got through a couple more songs with some fans. I know you’re probably worried about what they thought, but no one seemed mad, I think they just want you to get better. Aside from your throat, how’re you feeling?” Jack asked.  
“Well, I have a low fever, and that sucks, but I feel more embarrassed than anything. I’ve sang with a raspy voice before, but I’ve never lost my voice mid song like that. Like, with the voice crack and everything,” Alex replied.  
“No need to be embarrassed, dude. You’re sick, I’m sure everyone gets that. I know it feels embarrassing right now, but soon enough, it’ll be a funny story. Don’t focus your energy on this, for now, focus it on getting better,” Jack suggested, making Alex smile some.  
“You always have the right thing to say, thanks for helping me, dude,” Alex replied.  
“No problem. Now, do you want to watch a movie or something out here? I’ll stay with you, if you want, since I know you hate being alone when you’re sick,” Jack offered.  
“Are you sure? I don’t want you to catch this or anything,” Alex replied.  
“I’ll be fine, I hardly ever get sick from taking care of you. Besides, even if I did get sick, me losing my voice isn’t a big deal. Just knowing that this’ll help you feel better makes it all worth it to me,” Jack replied.  
“Thanks for being a great friend,” Alex stated.  
“No problem. Okay, you’re officially on vocal rest now unless it’s something important. The sooner you’re better, the sooner we can play really good shows again,” Jack said, turning on the TV. After they both got comfortable, Jack put on a show for the two of them.  
He spent the next couple of days doing what he could to help Alex feel better. They canceled two shows, but by the time of their next one, Alex was doing much better, and his voice was back to normal, allowing them to put on one of the best shows of their career.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, this is a request for someone on my Tumblr! This is my final request, I don't have anymore to work on or get up, so please send some in if you have them, I'd love to get more and write more for you guys! I have some of my own original stories written up from a few months ago, so I'll post them until I have requests again, but I've grown to like posting requests instead of my own ideas, since it's what you guys want to read! I hope you all liked this story, and thank you for reading. Lots of love, Liv.


End file.
